Janitors to Renew Talks at Behest of Business Group

Anxious to settle a strike that has drawn national attention and disrupted the city with daily marches and rallies, Los Angeles building owners intervened to pull janitors and contractors back to the bargaining table today.

“Everyone wants this strike to end, and everyone wants a fair deal,” said Geoffrey Ely, president of the Building Owners and Managers Assn., which initially had distanced itself from the dispute. “We’re trying to find a number that best meets the needs of both parties. It is there somewhere, and hopefully both parties will reach it soon.”

Ely’s assessment followed a day of heavy phone traffic involving Mayor Richard Riordan, prominent building owner Rob Maguire and Mike Garcia, president of the Service Employees International Union, Local 1877. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Garcia. “We’ve been told through different channels that it looks good. But we’ve been here before.”

Dick Davis, chief negotiator for the 18 janitorial firms that sign on to the master contract, said there is great disagreement among building owners about how much of a wage increase they can absorb, with some prosperous owners such as Maguire willing to meet the janitors’ demands and others not wanting to give ground.

“The mom-and-pop guys are screaming,” Davis said. “We’re not trying to be heroes here. Everybody would like to give these employees a dollar but there’s a real world out there.”

The janitors, who earn $6.80 to $7.80 per hour, initially had asked for a $3-per-hour increase spread evenly over the next three years. Contractors initially offered 80 cents to $1.30 over the same period, depending on geographic area.

Both sides have offered compromises, but remained far apart when talks last broke off Friday night.

Although the janitors are employed by the contractors, which vary from large national firms to smaller local companies, the building owners ultimately pay for their services.

Ely said negotiations have been complicated by the existence of nonunion janitorial firms, which generally pay the minimum wage of $5.75 per hour with no health benefits. To reduce costs, building owners could switch to nonunion firms. And as union wages rise, more owners are likely to do that, he said.

Striking janitors on Monday received about 4,000 food packages that were given out at a number of locations. The bags, which were unloaded from the backs of vans, were filled with rice, beans, milk and other staples.